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United States Patent |
6,234,619
|
Kiritake
|
May 22, 2001
|
Ink cartridge
Abstract
An ink is stored directly in an ink storage chamber. An printing head
connecting portion is arranged on the bottom side of the ink storage
chamber and an ink collector is arranged on the bottom side of the ink
storage chamber and alongside on the upper face of the printing head
connecting portion. The ink collector is provided with a plurality of
vertical plate-like blade portions arranged in parallel in the axial
direction so as to form an ink collector spaces therebetween, and the
blade portions are provided with communicating notches in a line so that
these communicating notches form an air/ink moving groove extending in the
axial direction. One end of the air/ink moving groove is communicated with
an air intake, and the other end thereof is communicated with the ink
storage chamber. The air/ink moving groove moves the ink or the air
between the ink storage chamber and the ink collector spaces or the air
intake, when the pressure in said ink storage chamber becomes too high or
too low.
Inventors:
|
Kiritake; Masayoshi (Yokohama, JP)
|
Assignee:
|
Mitsubishi Pencil Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo, JP)
|
Appl. No.:
|
549320 |
Filed:
|
April 13, 2000 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Apr 20, 1999[JP] | 11-112500 |
Current U.S. Class: |
347/87; 347/86 |
Intern'l Class: |
B41J 002/175 |
Field of Search: |
347/85,86,87,93
|
References Cited
Foreign Patent Documents |
2-297498 | Dec., 1990 | JP.
| |
3-169562 | Jul., 1991 | JP.
| |
7-68780 | Mar., 1995 | JP.
| |
8-290585 | Nov., 1996 | JP.
| |
2684508 | Aug., 1997 | JP.
| |
2683187 | Aug., 1997 | JP.
| |
Primary Examiner: Le; N.
Assistant Examiner: Vo; Anh T. N.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Darby & Darby
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An ink cartridge used for an ink jet printer in which an ink is
discharged from a nozzle of a printing head and made to fly and adhere
onto a paper, comprising:
an ink storage chamber for storing the ink directly;
a printing head connecting portion disposed on a bottom side of said ink
storage chamber for receiving the printer head; and
an ink collector disposed on the bottom side of said ink storage chamber
and alongside on an upper face of said printing head connecting portion,
said ink collector being disposed in a horizontal direction;
said ink collector being provided with a plurality of vertical plate-like
blade portions arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction so as to
form ink collector spaced therebetween;
said blade portions being provided with communicating notches in a line for
communicating adjoining said ink collector spaces so that the
communicating notches form an air/ink moving groove extending in a lateral
direction; and
one end of said air/ink moving groove being communicated with an air
intake, and other end of said air/ink moving groove being communicated
with said ink storage chamber;
wherein said air/ink moving groove moves the ink from said ink storage
chamber to said ink collector spaces, when a pressure in said ink storage
chamber becomes too high; and
said air/ink moving groove moves the ink from said ink collector spaces to
said ink storage chamber, when the pressure in said ink storage chamber
becomes too low, or moves air from said air intake to said ink storage
chamber.
2. An ink cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a lateral plate-like flow
resisting member is provided between said ink storage chamber and said
printing head connecting portion; and
said flow resisting member inhibits the ink from moving from said ink
storage chamber to said printing head connecting portion, when the
pressure in said ink storage chamber becomes too high.
3. An ink cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the flow resisting member
inhibits dust and air from moving from said ink storage chamber to said
printing head connecting portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink cartridge used for an ink jet
printer (an ink jet recorder) which discharges an ink from a nozzle of a
printing head, and lets it fly and adhere onto a paper or the like.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
An ink cartridge of an ink jet printer is provided with an ink storage
chamber (ink tank) for storing the ink, and the ink storage chamber is
communicated with an air moving passage such as an air intake or the like.
The air moving passage is so constituted that it is closed by a surface
tension (capillary force) of the ink, and when the pressure in the ink
storage chamber becomes too low with the use (consumption) of the ink,
outside air (atmospheric air) is introduced into the ink storage chamber
via the air moving passage, to thereby increase the pressure in the ink
storage chamber (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2683187, Japanese Patent
Publication No. 2684508, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 2 No.
297498, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 7 No. 68780, Japanese
Patent Application Laid-open Hei 3 No. 169562, Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open Hei 8 No. 290585, etc.)
In addition, the ink cartridge is arranged with an ink collector adjacent
to the ink storage chamber. The ink collector is constituted such that
when the pressure in the ink storage chamber becomes too high due to the
temperature increase or the like, the ink collector absorbs a part of the
ink from the ink storage chamber and expands the air in the ink storage
chamber, to thereby drop the pressure in the ink storage chamber. As the
ink collector, there can be mentioned a structure in which an inks is
absorbed in micropores in a massive porous body such as a sponge or the
like (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2683187, Japanese Patent Publication
No. 2684508 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 7 No. 68780),
and a structure in which an ink is absorbed in ink collector spaces
between a plurality of lateral plate-like blade portions arranged in
parallel in the vertical direction (top/bottom direction) (Japanese Patent
Application Laid-open Hei 2 No. 297498, Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open Hei 3 No. 169562, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei
8 No. 290585).
Moreover, in the case of the ink collector comprising a plurality of blades
arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, the structure is such that
the ink collector is disposed on the lower side of the ink storage chamber
and on the upper side of the printing head, and an intermediary core (ink
moving passage) comprising a bundle of fibers is provided penetrating
through the blade portions of the ink collector in the vertical direction,
thereby an ink is moved by a capillary force of the intermediary core from
the ink storage chamber to the printing head side (Japanese Patent
Application Laid-open Hei 8 No. 290585), or such that the ink collector is
disposed on the lower side of the ink storage chamber and on the lower
side of the printing head, and the ink is sucked up from the ink collector
by a capillary force of the intermediary core (ink moving passage)
(Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 3 No. 169562).
Moreover, in the case of the ink collector comprising a plurality of blade
portions arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, the structure is
generally such that an ink moving passage (intermediary core, ink
introducing groove) for moving the ink between the ink collector space
between the blade portions and the ink storage chamber, and an air moving
passage (air intake, ventilation passage) for moving the outside air in
the ink storage chamber are separately formed (Japanese Patent Application
Laid-open Hei 8 No. 290585 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 3
No. 169562). Alternatively, the structure is such that an air pipe is
connected via an ink inflow port of a container, and the air pipe is
communicated with a capillary tank communicating with the air (Japanese
Patent Application Laid-open Hei 2 No. 297498).
In the case of the massive porous body such as a sponge or the like, when
being cut into a predetermined size, fine cutting wastes (foreign matter)
are generated, and fine dust such as the cutting waste or the like may
come into the micropores in the massive porous body, and it is difficult
to clean and completely remove the fine dust intruded into the interior of
the micropores in the massive porous body. Therefore, with an ink
cartridge using the ink collector comprising the massive porous body,
there is a possibility that fine dust is mixed into the ink from the
massive porous body, and the printing head may be clogged with the fine
dust.
Moreover, with the ink cartridge using the ink collector comprising the
massive porous body, it is difficult to completely use (consume) the ink
absorbed by the massive porous body, and only about 50 to 60% of the
entire capacity of the ink can be used. Therefore, it is necessary to make
the volume of the ink storage chamber larger than the ink volume expected
to be used, and thus the ink cartridge becomes large, making it necessary
to increase the space for mounting the ink cartridge to the ink jet
printer.
Furthermore, with the ink cartridge in which the ink collector comprising a
plurality of blade portions arranged in parallel in the vertical direction
is disposed on the upper side of the printing head and the ink is moved
from the ink storage chamber to the printing head side by means of the
intermediary core, since the movement of the ink is performed by a
capillary force of the intermediary core, the moving speed of the ink
toward the printing head side is slow, and cannot cope with high speed
printing. Moreover, with the ink cartridge in which the ink collector
comprising a plurality of blade portions arranged in parallel in the
longitudinal direction is disposed on the lower side of the printing head,
and the ink moving passage and the air moving passage are formed
separately, it is difficult to completely suck the ink up from the ink
collector to the printing head side. In addition, the technique disclosed
in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Hei 2 No. 297498 is mainly
related to a writing instrument, and the construction thereof is different
from the other techniques described above as a matter of course.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been completed under this background, and it is
an object of the present invention to provide an ink cartridge which can
prevent dust, air or the like from being supplied to the printing head,
can use up the ink without wasting, and can suitably cope with high speed
printing.
A first gist of the present invention resides in an ink cartridge used for
an ink jet printer in which an ink is discharged from a nozzle of a
printing head and made to fly and adhere onto a paper or the like,
comprising:
an ink storage chamber for storing the ink directly;
a printing head connecting portion disposed on the bottom side of the ink
storage chamber; and
an ink collector disposed on the bottom side of the ink storage chamber and
alongside on the upper face of the printing head connecting portion;
the ink collector being provided with a plurality of vertical plate-like
blade portions arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction so as to
form an ink collector spaces therebetween;
the blade portions being provided with communicating notches in a line for
communicating adjoining the ink collector spaces so that these
communicating notches form an air/ink moving groove extending in the
lateral direction; and
one end of the air/ink moving groove being communicated with an air intake,
and the other end of the air/ink moving groove being communicated with the
ink storage chamber;
wherein the air/ink moving groove moves the ink from the ink storage
chamber to the ink collector spaces, when the pressure in the ink storage
chamber becomes too high; and
the air/ink moving groove moves the ink from the ink collector spaces to
the ink storage chamber, when the pressure in the ink storage chamber
becomes too low, or moves the air from the air intake to the ink storage
chamber.
A second gist of the present invention resides in an ink cartridge
according to the gist one, wherein a lateral plate-like flow resisting
member is provided between the ink storage chamber and the printing head
connecting portion; and
the flow resisting member inhibits the ink from moving from the ink storage
chamber to the printing head connecting portion, when the pressure in the
ink storage chamber becomes too high.
A third gist of the present invention resides in an ink cartridge according
to the gist two, wherein the flow resisting member inhibits dust and air
from moving from the ink storage chamber to the printing head connecting
portion.
According to the invention of the gist one, since the ink is directly
stored in the ink storage chamber without being absorbed in the massive
porous body such as a sponge or the like, it can be prevented that fine
dust is mixed in the ink from the massive porous body to clog the printing
head, and all of the ink stored in the ink storage chamber can effectively
be used up. Moreover, since the printing head connecting portion is
disposed on the bottom side of the ink storage chamber, the ink moving
speed from the ink storage chamber to the printing head side can be
increased, compared to the case where an intermediary core comprising a
bundle of fibers is disposed between the ink storage chamber and the
printing head connecting portion, thereby enabling to cope with high speed
printing speed.
Furthermore, since the ink collector comprising a plurality of blade
portions arranged in parallel in the lateral direction is provided, not
the massive porous body such as a sponge or the like, it can be prevented
that the printing head is clogged due to fine dust mixed in the ink from
the massive porous body. Meanwhile, the ink collector is disposed
alongside on the upper face of the printing head connecting portion, and
the air/ink moving groove for moving the ink or the air when the pressure
in the ink storage chamber becomes too high or too low is provided
extending in the lateral direction, hence the pressure in the ink storage
chamber can be maintained appropriately within a predetermined range, and
the ink stored in the ink collector can effectively be used up.
With the invention according to the gist two, the lateral plate-like flow
resisting member is provided between the ink storage chamber and the
printing head connecting portion, and the flow resisting member inhibits
the ink from moving from the ink storage chamber to the printing head
connecting portion, when the pressure in the ink storage chamber becomes
too high. According to the invention of the gist two, when the pressure in
the ink storage chamber becomes too high, movement of the ink from the ink
storage chamber to the printing head connecting portion is inhibited by
the flow resisting member, hence it can be prevented that the ink is
discharged excessively from the printing head (blotting).
With the invention according to the gist three, the flow resisting member
prevents dust and air from moving from the ink storage chamber to the
printing head connecting portion. According to the invention of the gist
three, when dust is mixed in the ink in the ink storage chamber, movement
of the dust from the ink storage chamber to the printing head connecting
portion is inhibited by the flow resisting member, hence it can be
prevented that the printing head is clogged due to the dust. Moreover,
when the ink cartridge is inverted, since the movement of the air from the
ink storage chamber to the printing head connecting portion is inhibited
by the flow resisting member, it can be prevented that the intermediary
core of the ink to the printing head is interrupted.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an ink cartridge according to an
embodiment of the present invention, and
FIG. 2 is a lateral sectional view of an ink collector in FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
As follows is a description of an embodiment of the present invention with
reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional
view of an ink cartridge according to an embodiment of the present
invention, and FIG. 2 is a lateral sectional view of an ink collector in
FIG. 1.
As shown in FIG. 1, a main body portion 10 formed in a hollow box shape by
a horizontal plate-like top plate portion 11, a vertical plate-like side
plate portions 12, and a lateral plate-like bottom plate portion 13 is
provided in the ink cartridge according to the embodiment of the present
invention. In a position deviated alongside of the bottom plate portion
13, is provided an ink discharge port 15, penetrating through the bottom
plate portion 13 in the vertical direction (top/bottom direction).
Moreover, the ink cartridge is provided with a printing head connecting
portion 19 having a cylindrical shape in the vertical direction with the
lower end being opened, in a form of enclosing the outer circumference of
the ink discharge port 15, integrally with the main body portion 10, and
protruding from the bottom plate portion 13 downward.
A partition plate portion 14 in a cylindrical shape in the horizontal
direction is provided in the inner space of the main body portion 10,
protruding from the side plate portion 12 on the opposite side of the ink
discharge port 15 horizontally inside, and the inner space of the main
body portion 10 is divided into an ink storage chamber 17 and an ink
collector chamber 18 by the partition plate portion 14. The ink collector
chamber 18 is formed in an oblong shape between the bottom plate portion
13 and the partition plate portion 14, and the outer end of the ink
collector chamber 18 is closed by the side plate portion 12 and the inner
end of the ink collector chamber 18 (on the ink storage chamber 17 side)
is opened. The bottom plate portion 13 is provided with an air intake 16
at a position on the lower side of the outer end of the ink collector
chamber 18, penetrating through in the vertical direction.
In the inside of the ink collector chamber 18, an ink collector 20 in an
oblong columnar form is mounted with the inner opening end being closed.
The ink collector 20 is an integrally injection-molded article, made of a
synthetic resin, and has such a structure that a multiplicity of vertical
plate-like blade portions 22 are coupled in the horizontal direction
(axial direction) by means of a shaft portion 21 in an oblong rod shape,
and between the blade portions 22, 22, ink collector spaces 24 are formed
at a predetermined interval. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, a vertical
communicating notch 23 is provided penetrating through in the horizontal
direction (axial direction) on the lower side portion of each blade
portion 22. As shown in FIG. 1, the communicating notches 23 of respective
blade portions 22 are aligned in the horizontal direction (axial
direction), and an air moving groove 25 extending in the axial direction
is formed by these communicating notches 23. The ink collector space 24
and the ink moving groove 25 are formed so that the capillary force of the
ink moving groove 25 becomes larger than the capillary force of the ink
collector space 24. One end of the air/ink moving groove 25 in the ink
collector 20 is communicated with the air intake 16, and the other end of
the air/ink moving groove 25 is communicated with the ink storage chamber
17.
Moreover, on the upper side on the inner circumference of the printing head
connecting portion 19 (right under the ink discharge port 15), there is
mounted a lateral plate-like flow resisting member 26 serving also as a
filter, and the flow resisting member 26 is constituted so as to let the
ink pass through from the upper face side to the lower face side at a
predetermined flow resistance. Also on the lower side on the inner
circumference of the printing head connecting portion 19 (under the flow
resisting member 26), there is mounted a cup-shaped rubber bush 27 with
the upper end being opened. On the inner circumference of the rubber bush
27, there is formed an ink discharge chamber 29 having a predetermined
volume. On the bottom portion of the rubber bush 27, there is provided a
head fit-in hole 28 penetrating through in the vertical direction, in
which the upper end portion of the printing head 30 is fitted.
As for the flow resisting member 26, a porous body such as urethane foam or
the like can be used. The porous body in this case, however, is not a
relatively large mass as in the conventional ink collector, and a
relatively thin plate-like porous body is used. Therefore, fine dust or
the like attached to the plate-like porous body can be reliably removed by
cleaning. Also as the flow resisting member 26, a metal plate (aluminum
plate, stainless steel plate or the like) having fine ink passage holes
may be used. In addition, the flow resisting member 26 is formed so that
the capillary force thereof becomes larger than that of the air/ink moving
groove 25 in the ink collector 20.
With the ink cartridge constituted as described above, when the ink I is
discharged from the printing head 30, the ink I moves from the ink
discharge chamber 29 to the printing head 30, as well as the ink I moves
from the ink storage chamber 17 to the ink discharge chamber 29 via the
flow resisting member 26. Therefore, the movement of the ink I from the
ink storage chamber 17 to the printing head 30 side is performed at a
relatively high speed, such that the ink I directly stored in the ink
storage chamber 17 and the ink discharge chamber 29 is moved, not by a
method in which the ink is moved via an intermediary core comprising a
bundle of fibers, hence a large amount of the ink I can be fed to the
printing head 30 uninterrupted, corresponding to increase of the printing
speed.
If the pressure (negative pressure) in the ink storage chamber 17 becomes
too low due to the use (consumption) of the ink I, outside air A
(atmospheric air) is taken into the ink storage chamber 17 from the air
intake 16 via the air/ink moving groove 25 in the ink collector 20, so
that the pressure in the ink storage chamber 17 increases. Also when the
pressure in the ink storage chamber 17 becomes too high due to the
increase of the temperature or the like, a part of the ink I in the ink
storage chamber 17 moves to the ink collector spaces 24 via the air/ink
moving groove 25 in the ink collector 20, and the pressure decreases due
to the expansion of the air A in the ink storage chamber 17. When the
pressure in the ink storage chamber 17 becomes too low again due to the
drop of the temperature or the use of the ink I, the ink I in the ink
collector spaces 24 in the ink collector 20 moves to the ink storage
chamber 17 via the air/ink moving groove 25, to thereby increase the
pressure in the ink storage chamber 17.
Accordingly, the pressure in the ink storage chamber 17 is maintained
within a predetermined range, it can be appropriately prevented that the
feed of the ink I to the printing head 30 is interrupted due to the too
low pressure in the ink storage chamber 17, or that the ink I is
excessively discharged from the printing head 30 (blotting) due to the too
high pressure in the ink storage chamber 17. In addition, it is preferable
that the pressure in the ink storage chamber 17 be adjusted so that the
pressure in the ink discharge chamber 29 (supply pressure of the ink I to
the printing head 30) becomes a negative pressure of from about -30 to
about -100 mmAq (water head).
Moreover, the ink I is directly stored in the ink storage chamber 17, and
since the ink is not absorbed by a massive porous body such as a sponge or
the like, it can be prevented that fine dust is mixed in the ink I in the
ink storage chamber 17 from the massive porous body. Also, since the flow
resisting member 26 serving also as a filter is mounted to the ink
discharge port 15, even if dust is mixed in the ink I in the ink storage
chamber 17, the dust is prevented from moving toward the printing head 30
side, to thereby prevent the printing head 30 from being clogged by the
dust.
Also, the ink I is directly stored in the ink storage chamber 17, and since
the ink is not absorbed by a massive porous body such as a sponge or the
like, the ink I in the ink storage chamber 17 can be used up (consumed),
without remaining the unused ink, hence the volume of the ink storage
chamber 17 can be miniaturized and the ink cartridge can be also made
small. In addition, since the ink collector 20 is arranged in the
horizontal direction at the upper position than the printing head
connecting portion 19, the ink I temporarily stored in the ink collector
20 can be easily returned to the ink storage chamber 17, thus enabling to
use (consume) the ink I without wasting.
Moreover, since the ink I is directly stored in the ink storage chamber 17
(without being absorbed in a sponge or the like), the air A taken into the
ink storage chamber 17 via the ink collector 20 moves smoothly upward (in
the direction opposite to the ink discharge port 15), and it can be
prevented that the air bubbles come into the printing head 30 side to
cause a printing problem. In addition, since the flow resisting member 26
is provided in the ink discharge port 15, when the pressure in the ink
storage chamber 17 becomes too high, the ink I in the ink storage chamber
17 can be smoothly moved to the ink collector 20.
Furthermore, when the ink cartridge is inverted, the air A in the ink
storage chamber 17 moves to the ink discharge port 15 side, but since the
flow resisting member 26 is provided in the ink discharge port 15, the air
A in the ink storage chamber 17 can be prevented from intruding into the
ink discharge chamber 29. When the ink cartridge is in upright position
again, the ink I can be supplied smoothly to the printing head 30 from the
ink storage chamber 17 via the flow resisting member 26 and the ink
discharge chamber 29.
In the embodiment described above, there has been described a case where
the ink collector comprising a plurality of blade portions arranged in
parallel in the vertical direction is an integrally injection-molded
article made of a synthetic resin, but the ink collector may have such a
construction that each blade and shaft portion are separately formed and
these portions are assembled together.
According to the invention of the gist one, since the ink is directly
stored in the ink storage chamber without being absorbed in a massive
porous body such as a sponge or the like, it can be prevented that fine
dust is mixed in the ink from the massive porous body to thereby clog the
printing head, and the ink stored in the ink storage chamber can be
completely used up, without remaining the unused ink. Also, since the
printing head connecting portion is arranged at the bottom of the ink
storage chamber, the ink moving speed from the ink storage chamber to the
printing head side can be speeded up, compared to the case where an
intermediary core comprising a bundle of fibers is provided between the
ink storage chamber and the printing head connecting portion, thereby
enabling to easily correspond to increase of the printing speed.
Moreover, since the ink collector comprising a plurality of blade portions
arranged in parallel in the vertical direction, not amassive porous body
such as a sponge or the like is provided, it can be prevented that fine
dust is mixed in the ink from the massive porous body to thereby clog the
printing head. In addition, since the ink collector is arranged alongside
on the upper face of the printing head connecting portion, and the air/ink
moving groove is provided extending in the horizontal direction, which
moves the ink and the air when the pressure in the ink storage chamber
becomes too high or too low, the pressure in the ink storage chamber can
be appropriately maintained within a predetermined range, and the ink
stored in the ink collector can be used up without wasting.
Moreover, according to the invention of the gist two, when the pressure in
the ink storage chamber becomes too high, the movement of the ink from the
ink storage chamber to the printing head connecting portion is inhibited
by the flow resisting member, hence it can be prevented that the ink is
excessively discharged (blotting) from the printing head.
Furthermore, according to the invention of the gist three, when dust is
mixed in the ink in the ink storage chamber, movement of the dust from the
ink storage chamber to the printing head connecting portion is inhibited
by the flow resisting member, hence it can be prevented that the printing
head is clogged due to the dust. In addition, if the ink cartridge is
inverted, since the movement of the air from the ink storage chamber to
the printing head connecting portion is inhibited by the flow resisting
member, it can be prevented that the supply of the ink to the printing
head is interrupted.
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